25th June: McBride to Mt. Robson
Odometer: 85 km, Start: 10.15am, Finish: 4.15pm, Avg: 19.0 km/h,
Weather: Overcast with rain showers, Temp: 14-19°C
Bear count: 5, Moose count: 1, Mosquito Bites: 31, Hills walked: 0
Road Conditions: #16, Good surface, 2m shoulder, sometimes rumble strips. Traffic very light, more after Tete Jaune junction (#5). Shop at Dunster (30km), Services at Tete Jaune. Pretty flat. Ascent: 500m up/500m down.
I looked out of the window (motel again...) at about 7. The clouds were almost at town level and it was raining and very misty. Not worth an early start then! Gradually it brightened and I was on the road by 10.15am, today’s destination now set at Mt. Robson, the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies.
Luckily, yesterday's headwind that caused such a chuckle-fest had eased and reversed, so I had a comfortable ride along the flat Robson Valley. (Wind direction is very important to a cyclist; too much heat, cold, sun or rain can be an inconvenience, too much headwind can bring you to the point of despair in less than an hour…
I would have loved for today to have been sunny. I had 2,500m mountains flanking both sides of me. As it was overcast and showery for much of the day the peaks were hidden in dark cloud with just the occasional glimpse of a snow capped summit. At the end of the Robson Valley, I reached the junction with route #5 at Tete Jaune Cache and headed towards Mt. Robson itself. I was now well and truly back in the high mountains!
I passed Mt. Terry Fox on the climb up. (Terry Fox was a young guy who tried to run across Canada on an artificial leg but succumbed to cancer on the way across. His story touched the nation at the time).
I approached Mt. Robson, but it was shrouded in mist and cloud. (I think the same happened the last time I came past this way as well). I determined my camping options and while having a meal checked out the view every now and again to see if the mountain was clear. It very nearly was once or twice, but not quite! I got a couple of pictures of Mt. Robson and the surrounding peaks when the sun momentarily caught them. I decided to black & white some of them for moody effect!
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